Ugandan Government Sells Majority Stake in Uganda Telecom
Uganda's telcos progress with IPOs
Under revised regulations governing Uganda's telecom sector which were introduced at the end of 2019, telcos were to be issued with new licenses and be required to list at least 20% of their equity on the local stock exchange, This move was aimed at encouraging local ownership among operators in the sector.
MTN in March 2020 renewed its National Telecom Operating licence for a further ten years, paying $100 million. Under the revised licensing regime, Airtel Uganda also fell under the NTO license regime on the grounds that it provided two-thirds geographic coverage. Given that Airtel at the time was paying only $100,000 to offer services under the cheaper PSP and PIP licences (to its obvious advantage), MYN and Uganda telecom complained. To level the playing field, Airtel was moved to a 20-year NTO licence in December 2020 (effective from the previous July). As part of the licence terms, the company must provide 90% geographic coverage by mid-2025.
Lycamobile Uganda, which had launched services in April 2020 after having acquired the local TD-LTE operator Tangerine in the previous January, was given an NTO licence in May 2021, making it the fourth operator in the country so licensed. Similar to Airtel, Lycamobile must extend geographic coverage and must also list 20% of its shares on the local exchange by mid-2022.
In line with these licensing requirements, MTN Group completed an IPO for its Uganda unit in October 2021, though it only managed to sell 60% of the 20% stake on offer, raising UGX535.9 billion. As a result of the IPO, the Group's interest in MTN Uganda fell to about 83%. In the following December, the Group proceeded with listing its 22.4 billion ordinary shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
While these events have been ongoing, the economic consequences of the pandemic contributed to the exit of Africell in October 2021.
Table of Contents
Key statistics- Regional Africa Market Comparison
- Market characteristics
- Market Leaders
- Market Challengers
- Market Emergents
- TMI vs GDP
- Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
- Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration
Country overview
- Telecommunications market
- Market analysis
Regulatory environment
- Historical overview
- Regulatory authorities
- Fixed-line developments
- Mobile network developments
Mobile market
- Mobile statistics
- Mobile data
- Mobile broadband
- Mobile infrastructure
- Other infrastructure developments
- Major mobile operators
- Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)
- Mobile content and applications
Fixed-line broadband market
- Market analysis
- Broadband statistics
- Public Internet access locations
- Uganda Internet Exchange Point (UiXP)
- Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
- Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
- Other fixed broadband services
Fixed network operators
- Uganda Telecom (UTL)
- MTN Uganda
Telecommunications infrastructure
- Overview of the national telecom network
- Fibre infrastructure
- International infrastructure
Data centres
- Smart infrastructure
- Smart grids
Appendix Historic data
- Glossary of abbreviations
- Related reports
List of Tables
- Table 1 Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities Uganda 2022 (e)
- Table 2 Telecom sector tax revenue (UGX million) 2016 2021
- Table 3 Telecom service tax revenue in Uganda (UGX billion) 2012 2019
- Table 4 Increase in the number of mobile base stations and towers in service 2015 2021
- Table 5 Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Table 6 Growth in mobile voice traffic by type (million minutes) 2012 2021
- Table 7 SMS messages sent, by type (million messages) 2014 2019
- Table 8 Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Table 9 Growth in the number of MTN Uganda's mobile subscribers 2012 2022
- Table 10 Development of MTN Uganda's financial data (ZAR million) 2013 2021
- Table 11 MTN Uganda revenue by type (ZAR million) 2015 2021
- Table 12 Development of MTN Uganda's ARPU 2012 2022
- Table 13 Growth in the number of Airtel Uganda's mobile subscribers 2012 2019
- Table 14 Change in the number of Telecel's mobile subscribers 2013 2019
- Table 15 Growth in the number of Africell Uganda's mobile subscribers 2012 2019
- Table 16 Growth in the number of mobile money agents and subscribers 2013 2021
- Table 17 Growth in the number of mobile money transactions and value 2012 2019
- Table 18 Growth in the number of internet users and penetration rate 2012 2021
- Table 19 Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers 2012 2027
- Table 20 Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity 2012 2027
- Table 21 Increase in international internet bandwidth 2012 2018
- Table 22 Increase in internet bandwidth per population 2012 2018
- Table 23 Historic - Telecom market revenue in Uganda 2008 2012
- Table 24 Historic - Vodafone Uganda mobile subscribers 2015 2017
- Table 25 Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate in Uganda 1996 2011
- Table 26 Historic - MTN Uganda subscribers 2000 2011
- Table 27 Historic - MTN Uganda ARPU 2002 2011
- Table 28 Historic - Airtel Uganda subscribers 2002 2011
- Table 29 Historic - Internet users and penetration rate in Uganda 1995 2011
- Table 30 Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity in Uganda 1995 2011
- Table 31 Historic - Uganda's international internet bandwidth 1999 2011
- Table 32 Historic - Telecom service tax revenue in Uganda (UGX billion) 2008 2011
- Table 33 Historic - Growth in mobile voice traffic by type (million minutes) 2008 2011
List of Charts
- Chart 1 Africa Telecoms Maturity Index Market Leaders
- Chart 2 Africa Market Leaders global ranking
- Chart 3 Africa Telecoms Maturity Index Market Challengers
- Chart 4 Africa Market Challengers global ranking
- Chart 5 Africa Telecoms Maturity Index Market Emergents
- Chart 6 Africa Market Emergents global ranking
- Chart 7 Africa Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
- Chart 8 Africa Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 9 Africa Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 10 Telecom tax revenue in Uganda 2012 2019
- Chart 11 Increase in the number of mobile base stations and towers in service 2015 2021
- Chart 12 Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Chart 13 Growth in mobile voice traffic by type 2012 2021
- Chart 14 Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Chart 15 Growth in the number of MTN Uganda's mobile subscribers 2012 2022
- Chart 16 Development of MTN Uganda's financial data 2013 2021
- Chart 17 Development of MTN Uganda's ARPU 2012 2022
- Chart 18 Growth in the number of Airtel Uganda's mobile subscribers 2012 2019
- Chart 19 Change in the number of Telecel's mobile subscribers 2013 2019
- Chart 20 Growth in the number of Africell Uganda's mobile subscribers 2012 2019
- Chart 21 Growth in the number of mobile money agents and subscribers 2013 2021
- Chart 22 Growth in the number of mobile money transactions and value 2012 2019
- Chart 23 Growth in the number of internet users and penetration rate 2012 2021
- Chart 24 Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Chart 25 Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity 2012 2027
List of Exhibits
- Exhibit 1 Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Africa
- Exhibit 2 Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
- Exhibit 3 Africa Market Leaders and market developments
- Exhibit 4 Africa Market Challengers and market developments
- Exhibit 5 Africa Market Emergents and market developments
Executive Summary
Uganda’s telcos progress with IPOsUnder revised regulations governing Uganda’s telecom sector which were introduced at the end of 2019, telcos were to be issued with new licenses and be required to list at least 20% of their equity on the local stock exchange, This move was aimed at encouraging local ownership among operators in the sector.
MTN in March 2020 renewed its National Telecom Operating licence for a further ten years, paying $100 million. Under the revised licensing regime, Airtel Uganda also fell under the NTO license regime on the grounds that it provided two-thirds geographic coverage. Given that Airtel at the time was paying only $100,000 to offer services under the cheaper PSP and PIP licences (to its obvious advantage), MYN and Uganda telecom complained. To level the playing field, Airtel was moved to a 20-year NTO licence in December 2020 (effective from the previous July). As part of the licence terms, the company must provide 90% geographic coverage by mid-2025.
Lycamobile Uganda, which had launched services in April 2020 after having acquired the local TD-LTE operator Tangerine in the previous January, was given an NTO licence in May 2021, making it the fourth operator in the country so licensed. Similar to Airtel, Lycamobile must extend geographic coverage and must also list 20% of its shares on the local exchange by mid-2022.
In line with these licensing requirements, MTN Group completed an IPO for its Uganda unit in October 2021, though it only managed to sell 60% of the 20% stake on offer, raising UGX535.9 billion. As a result of the IPO, the Group’s interest in MTN Uganda fell to about 83%. In the following December, the Group proceeded with listing its 22.4 billion ordinary shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
While these events have been ongoing, the economic consequences of the pandemic contributed to the exit of Africell in October 2021.
